The “football vampire” may be gone – but that won’t stop boss Jimmy Thelin working long hours in his bid to bring success back to Aberdeen.
Thelin was given that nickname by his brother Tommy, because he worked long through the night during his first managerial job at Jonkopings Sodra in Sweden.
Tommy was his captain at the club, and Thelin admits he would work from six in the morning until after midnight, grab a few hours sleep, then repeat.
It was a gruelling schedule as Thelin and assistant Christer Perrson, who he has taken to Pittodrie, battled to make their mark as coaches.
And it paid off as they led Jonkopinga to the 2015 Superettan title and secured the club Swedish top-flight football for the first time in more than 40 years.
Thelin was then headhunted by Elfsborg, where he went on to secure Swedish top-flight runners-up finishes in 2024 and 2020.
The Swede says the vampire is “dead now” as he has children and cannot devote his entire life to studying football.
However, he is still racking up the long hours, including planning his Aberdeen revolution late into nights during a recent family trip to Paris.
He said: “The vampire is dead now – now that I have children!
“It was actually quite crazy. Myself and Christer (Persson), one of the assistant coaches, were changing computer sticks at like one in the morning, saying: ‘Look at this player, look at this player’.
“We’d be up working, then take training.
“That was from six in the morning, right through, a few hours sleep and then go again.
“And it’s what you have to do sometimes.
“It was just me and him.
“But I couldn’t do that for 25 years. It would be impossible.”
Important how you leave a club
Thelin was confirmed as Aberdeen manager on April 18 but opted to remain at Elfsborg until the Swedish top-flight entered a summer break on June 1.
The 46-year-old said it is important to him not just how he starts at Aberdeen, but how he finished at Elfsborg.
He wanted to exit the Swedish Allsvenskan side in the right manner and be true to the trust he built up with the club, players and supporters.
That period ushered in the late, late nights again as Thelin had to honour Elfsborg and give the players and club his full commitment.
Then, after hours, he worked on his Aberdeen masterplan.
He said: “I had a contract with Elfsborg and I always try to be loyal to where I am right now.
“But, of course, during the night, you can read a little bit and try to understand.
“You have some talks, of course.
“However, you also have to be loyal to where you are working.
“It’s important for me how you arrive at a club, but also how you leave a club.
“For me, it’s the same – I want people to trust me.
“I put demands on the players also.
“We can trust each other. We know that someone can move on, some will stay.
‘That’s just how it is.
“But still I wanted to be direct with my chairman at Elfsborg and the players who I was working with for so many years.
‘There were quite long days sometimes in the last few weeks as I had to ask some things (about Aberdeen), even though I was still at Elfsborg.
“I was up really late.”
Working on Aberdeen plan in Paris
Thelin had a family holiday in France before arriving in the Granite City to begin shaping a new era at Pittodrie.
However, even then he was working at night preparing for Aberdeen.
He said: “I was in Paris with my children and my wife. When the children fell asleep, the computer went up.
“I saw my children in Paris, but not my wife. But she knows…”
Conversation